Ascaris lumbricoides is the giant roundworm of humans, belonging to the phylum Nematoda.

An ascarid nematode, it is responsible for the disease ascariasis in humans, and it is the largest and most common parasitic worm in humans. One sixth of the human population is estimated to be infected by Ascaris lumbricoides or another roundworm .[1] Ascariasis is prevalent worldwide and more so in tropical and subtropical countries. t can reach a length of up to !" cm

Life cycle
Ascaris lumbricoides, or #roundworm#, infections in humans occur when an ingested fertilised egg becomes a larval worm that penetrates the wall of the duodenum and enters the blood stream. $rom here, it is carried to the liver and heart, and enters pulmonary circulation to brea% free in the alveoli, where it grows and molts. n ! wee%s, the larvae pass from the respiratory system to be coughed up, swallowed, and thus returned to the small intestine, where they mature to adult male and female worms. $ertili&ation can now occur and the female produces as many as '((,((( eggs per day for a year. )hese fertili&ed eggs become infectious after ' wee%s in soil* they can persist in soil for 1( years or more.[!] )he eggs have a lipid layer, that ma%es them resistant to the effects of acids and al%alis as well as other chemicals. )his resilience helps to explain why this nematode is such a ubi+uitous parasite.
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Morphology

$ertile egg as can be seen in a microscope

$ertile egg in human faeces -detail.

nfertile egg Ascaris lumbricoides is characteri&ed by its great si&e. /ales are '0, mm in diameter and 1"0 !1 cm long. )he males1 posterior end is curved ventrally and has a bluntly pointed tail. $emales are !02 mm wide and '(0,3 cm long. )he vulva is located in the anterior end and accounts for about a one third of its body length. 4teri may contain up to '5 million eggs at a time with '((,((( being laid per day. $ertili&ed eggs are oval to round in shape and are ,"65" micrometers long and !"6"( micrometers wide with a thic% outer shell. 4nfertili&ed eggs measure 7763, micrometers long and ,, micrometers wide.["]

Epidemiology
/ore than ' billion people are affected by this infection.[!] n the 4nited 8tates there is a reported prevalence of (.79 of the total population as of 1375. Ascaris lumbricoides eggs are extremely

resistant to strong chemicals, desiccation, and low temperatures. )he eggs can remain viable in the soil for several months or even years.["] :ggs of A. lumbricoides have been identified in archeological coprolites in the Americas, :urope, Africa, the /iddle :ast, and New ;ealand, the oldest ones being more than ',,((( years old.[2]

Infections
/ain article< Ascariasis nfections with these parasites are more common where sanitation is poor[5] and raw human feces are used as fertili&er.

Symptoms
Often, there are no symptoms with an A. lumbricoides infection. =owever, in the case of a particularly bad infection, symptoms may include bloody sputum, cough, fever, abdominal discomfort, passing worms, etc.[7][3]

Prevention
>reventing any fecal6borne disease re+uires educated hygienic habits?culture and fecal treatment systems once a year. )his is particularly important with ascaris because its eggs are one of the most difficult pathogens to %ill -second only to prions., and the eggs commonly survive 10! years. Ascaris lives in the intestine where it lays eggs. nfection occurs when the eggs, too small to be seen by the unaided eye, are eaten. )he eggs may get onto vegetables when improperly processed human feces of infected people are used as fertili&er for food crops. nfection may occur when food is handled without removing or %illing the eggs on the hands, clothes, hair, raw vegetables?fruit, or coo%ed food that is -re.infected by handlers, containers, etc. @leach does not readily %ill Ascaris eggs but it will remove their stic%y film, to allow the eggs to be rinsed away. Ascaris eggs can be reduced by hot composting methods, but to completely %ill them may re+uire rubbing alcohol, iodine, speciali&ed chemicals, coo%ing heat, or #unusually# hot composting -for example, over "(AB -1'(A$. for ', hours [1]..

Details of infection process

nfections happen when a human swallows water or food contaminated with unhatched Cuveniles. )he Cuveniles hatch in the duodenum -1st section of small intestine.. )hey then penetrate the mucosa and submucosa and enter venules or lymphatics. Next they pass through the right heart and into pulmonary circulation. )hey then brea% out of the capillaries and enter the air spaces. Acute tissue reaction occurs when several worms get lost during this migration and accumulate in other organs of the body. )he Cuveniles migrate from the lung up the respiratory tract to the pharynx where they are swallowed. )hey begin producing eggs within 2(02" days of being swallowed. )hese are produced within the small intestine where the Cuveniles mature. t might

seem odd that the worms end up in the same place where they began. One hypothesis to account for this behavior is that the migration mimics an intermediate host, which would be re+uired for Cuveniles of an ancestral form to develop to the third stage. Another possibility is that tissue migration enables faster growth and larger si&e, which increases reproductive capacity.[1(]

Diagnosis and treatment

/ost diagnoses are made by identifying the appearance of the worm or eggs in feces. Due to the large +uantity of eggs laid, physicians can diagnose using only one or two fecal smears. nfections can be treated with drugs called ascaricides. )he treatment of choice is mebenda&ole. )he drug functions by binding to tubulin in the worms1 intestinal cells and body6wall muscles. Nita&oxanide and ivermectin can also be used.["]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascaris_lumbricoides